Cung Le stuns Rich Franklin with knockout in UFC's debut in China

Cung Le of Vietnam reacts after winning the middleweight match, of the Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC , after beating Rich “Ace” Franklin of the US, at the Venetian Macao, in Macau Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. Cung Le won by a knock out in the first round.Kin Cheung
/ AP

Rich “Ace” Franklin of the US, right is hit by Cung Le of Vietnam, during their Middleweight match, of the Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC, at the Venetian Macao, in Macau, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. Cung Le won by a knock out in the first round.Kin Cheung
/ AP

Rich “Ace” Franklin of the US falls after being hit by Cung Le of Vietnam, during the Middleweight match, of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, at the Venetian Macao, in Macau Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. Cung Le won by a knock out in the first round.Kin Cheung
/ AP

Rich “Ace” Franklin of the US, left, fights with Cung Le of Vietnam, during the Middleweight match of the Ultimate Fighting Championship UF, at the Venetian Macao, in Macau, Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. Cung Le won by a knock out in the first round.Kin Cheung
/ AP

Cung Le of Vietnam reacts after winning the middleweight match, of the Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC , after beating Rich “Ace” Franklin of the US, at the Venetian Macao, in Macau Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. Cung Le won by a knock out in the first round.Kin Cheung
/ AP

Cung Le of Vietnam reacts after winning the middleweight match, of the Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC , after beating Rich “Ace” Franklin of the US, at the Venetian Macao, in Macau Sunday, Nov. 11, 2012. Cung Le won by a knock out in the first round.Kin Cheung
/ AP

Of all those taking in the main event of Ultimate Fighting Championship’s debut in China, no one looked more surprised with the finish than Cung Le – and he was the one responsible.

Known best for his spectacular kicks that seemingly come out of nowhere, it was a right hand, instead, that earned Le the most important victory of his career. In his first-ever UFC main event, the 40-year-old Le – who was born in nearby Vietnam – knocked out Franklin at 2:17 of the first round in Saturday’s main event of UFC on FUEL TV, in Macau, the company’s first-ever event in the most populated country on the planet.

“That’s the biggest fight of my life,” said Le (9-2), who looked near tears in the moments immediately following the match.

The consensus going into the bout was that Franklin had superior conditioning and experience, and would gain control the longer the match went. If Le – a Sanshou kickboxer and former Strikeforce middleweight champion who only debuted in mixed martial arts in 2006 – was going to win, the popular opinion was that he had to knockout Franklin early.

Franklin was in control in the opening moments of the first round, using his six-inch reach advantage to keep Le at a distance and land effective combinations. But Le used that time to measure Franklin, and quickly found the opening he was looking for. Franklin was again using his length to get inside on Le, throwing a kick of own and looking to throw a punch. But he dropped his hands, which is when Le struck.

“He was loading up. He was looking for me to kick and catch me with those punches. I came in, I waited for him to punch and I just came over with the overhand right and caught him. Thank you, Lord,” said Le, who entered the match with a lingering foot injury following a win in July over Patrick Cote.

Le didn’t need to throw another punch. Franklin was knocked out instantly, falling to the mat flat on his face. Le dropped to the mat as well, but he was on his knees in joy and disbelief, before jumping on top of the cage and acknowledging the fans who adopted him as their favourite during fight week.

Franklin was laid out for a couple minutes before being helped to his feet.

“I have to go back and watch it on the tape. I’m a little fuzzy right now,” said Franklin (29-7, 1 NC) following the bout. In his last eight matches, he has gone 4-4, following a win with a loss each time.

At the age of 38, Franklin – a former middleweight champion returning to the division for the first time since 2008 – was hoping a win over Le would kick-start one last title run. Instead, he’ll be facing questions about whether he’ll follow the paths of former UFC champions Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, all of whom have retired since 2011.

“I have to go home, go back to the drawing board, sit down with my coaches, make an intelligent decision,” said Franklin.

In other main-card bouts at UFC on FUEL TV, Thiago Silva submitted Stanislav Nedkov at 1:45 of the third round in a light heavyweight match; Dong Hyun Kim earned a unanimous decision over Paulo Thiago in a welterweight contest, Takanori Gomi beat Mac Danzig via split decision in a lightweight match, Jon Tuck was awarded a unanimous decision over home-country favourite Tiequan Zhang in a lightweight bout, and Takeya Mizugaki beat Jeff Hougland via unanimous decision in a bantamweight match.

FIGHT NOTES: Four fighters each received $40,000 bonus awards – Gomi and Danzig for fight of the night, Le for knockout of the night, and Silva for submission of the night … The promotion returns to Montreal next Saturday for UFC 154, headlined by Canadian superstar and welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre facing interim welterweight champ Carlos Condit.

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